Cheers! Punters Swelter Through Heat For Free Beer At Aussie Pub

The line outside the Adelaide pub promising free beer snaked around the block as punters sweat through extreme temperatures in the middle of a record-breaking heatwave.

Security were forced to start letting in patrons one by one as line outside the Red Lion Hotel at Elizabeth North spilled over with grateful patrons cashing in on a promised free beer as heat records tumbled in South Australia.

Those unable to fit inside were forced to swelter with their cold ones in the heat, but that didn't lower spirits with rowdy crowds singing and chanting in the afternoon sun.

Parts of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria are set to feel the worst of the heat as records for the hottest day ever could be broken.

In South Australia, Port Augusta is expected to reach 49 degrees, while Whyalla, Wudinna, Tarcoola are set to hit 48 degrees.

Other parts of SA including Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta are expected to hit 47 degrees.

In fact, the record for the hottest temperature in Australia was recorded in Oodnadatta, South Australia more than half a century ago, when it reached 50.7 degrees on 2 January 1960.

Residents across South Australia have banded together against the extreme heat as the weather sets in. BJ'sDeli in Whyalla is offering people free bottles of water to encourage them to stay hydrated. Others have posted reminders on social media of the total fire ban in place.

Tops of 46 degrees will be experienced by residents in Wilcannia, NSW while Broken Hill will get to 45 degrees. Mildura, Swan Hill, Ouyen, Horsham in Victoria are expected to hit 44 degrees.

Beer is already super cheap at The Red Lion. Image : Getty Images

Thousands of properties are without power in north-central Victoria and trains and trams will slow down as temperatures climb across the state. More than 2700 AusNet customers were hit with a power outage near Nagambie on Thursday morning.

The outage comes as Victorians brace for hot conditions and an "oppressive" night as the mercury begins its climb into the 40s across much of the state. Metro Trains will apply speed restrictions line-by-line when tracks hit 55C, rather than across the entire network.

Tram services will also work to an extreme weather timetable, including cancellation of route 30 between 2pm and 9pm, and route 12 diverting via La Trobe Street.

Meanwhile, more than 50 fires are burning across Australia's most southern state. Fires have been burning in Tasmania since the middle of January and more than 19,000 hectares of bushland have been destroyed.

Conditions are expected to peak at their worst on Friday as Tasmania Fire Service firefighters continue to battle the blazes around the clock.